Today marks the 10th anniversary of the disastrous invasion of Iraq that cost the lives of so many Americans and Iraqis and billions of taxpayer dollars.
Recognizing this tragic milestone, Council-endorsed Senate candidate Representative Bruce Braley (D-IA) has introduced a bipartisan bill to require a full accounting of the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The True Cost of War Act , introduced by Braley and Republican Rep. Walter Jones of North Carolina, requires the President to work with the departments of Defense, State and Veterans Affairs to provide a comprehensive total of financial and human costs associated with the wars.
For too long, the American people have only been told what we are spending on bombs and missiles — but have never been provided the full human costs that continue to mount long after the last troops are withdrawn.
Braley acknowledges that the US must be held accountable for the true cost of our policies abroad:
“Congress has spent $1.5 trillion on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan so far, but those costs don’t even begin to account for so many indirect costs and the costs of these wars yet to come: lifetime care for injured veterans, long-term mental health treatment, spousal benefits for families of those we lost, and more. …These wars have had a tremendous impact on our federal budget and our standing in the world. American taxpayers deserve a true and full accounting of these conflicts, so we understand the financial and human toll these wars have placed on our nation.”
This activism is typical of Rep. Braley’s career in the House of Representatives. We are proud to back him in his bid for the Senate, just as we did in his election to the House, because we believe that sensible and progressive voices like his deserve a place in the U.S. Senate.
